Unrated severityOSV Advisory· Published Jan 22, 2026· Updated Jan 22, 2026
Mastodon vulnerable to Denial of Service from a single post (client/server)
CVE-2026-23962
Description
Mastodon is a free, open-source social network server based on ActivityPub. Mastodon versions before v4.3.18, v4.4.12, and v4.5.5 do not have a limit on the maximum number of poll options for remote posts, allowing attackers to create polls with a very large amount of options, greatly increasing resource consumption. Depending on the number of poll options, an attacker can cause disproportionate resource usage in both Mastodon servers and clients, potentially causing Denial of Service either server-side or client-side. Mastodon versions v4.5.5, v4.4.12, v4.3.18 are patched.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Affected products
3Patches
Vulnerability mechanics
References
4- github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.3.18mitrex_refsource_MISC
- github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.4.12mitrex_refsource_MISC
- github.com/mastodon/mastodon/releases/tag/v4.5.5mitrex_refsource_MISC
- github.com/mastodon/mastodon/security/advisories/GHSA-gg8q-rcg7-p79gmitrex_refsource_CONFIRM
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